Today USDA ordered their meat inspectors to test more meat for the presence of spinal cord. The inspectors will be routinely testing meat produced in special bone stripping equipment, a process known as AMR for advanced meat recovery. That is a critical new protection for consumers if mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE) were discovered in the U.S. cattle population.

Unfortunately, the order does not go nearly far enough. The order never defines how often routine tests should be performed. Also, test results are not publicly reported unless they result in a voluntary recall. Finally, USDA has missed the boat by not declaring spinal cord in meat (which has the potential to transmit mad cow disease if the cattle are infected) a food-safety violation. That approach results in less aggressive recalls.

Last August, CSPI petitioned USDA to ban the use of spinal columns in AMR systems. Todays order does not replace the need for additional regulatory firewalls to protect U.S. consumers from the risk of mad cow disease.